Publications

Malawi votes

President, parliament, and communal elections in the world’s poorest democracy

Malawi is part of the decreasing number of African countries which count as stable but imperfect democracies. There is an active electoral contest and the country has prior experience with democratic governmental transitions, which remain possible in the upcoming elections on 16 September 2025. The election is taking place against the backdrop of extreme poverty. The people of Malawi believe that the economic situation has not improved under the current government. The candidates’ and parties’ manifestos are limited in scope and depth, they do not differ drastically from one to the other; many of the candidates are old acquaintances. However, the global geopolitical rivalry, the race for raw materials and rare earths, the growing number of conflicts and the decreasing number of democracies particularly on our neighboring continent all give these elections greater significance than they would have before the war in Ukraine and the inauguration of Trump. 

Event Report: Young Democracy Union of Africa Conference on Digital Democracy and AI in Rabat

The Young Democracy Union of Africa (YDUA) successfully hosted its 2025 Annual Conference from June 22 to 27 in Rabat, Morocco, under the theme “Democratising Africa in the Age of Social Media and AI: The Centre-Right Youth Agenda.”

KASYP2025 Event Report: Empowering Africa’s Young Leaders

From April 28 to May 2, 2025, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) hosted the first in-person session of the KAS School for Young Politicians (KASYP) third edition at the University of Pretoria’s Future Africa campus.

Event Report: The Battle for African Minds - From Information War’s and to political turmoil

Event Report: The Battle for African Minds - From Information War’s and to political turmoil

Under the North, East, West and South (NEWS) initiative, the Regional Programme for Political Dialogue in Sub-Saharan Africa (PolDiSSA) of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) has brought together members of civil society movement, think tanks, political leaders and journalists from the four extreme parts of the continent. This 4th and final edition of NEWS, like the precedents, brought together leaders of opinion from all Tunisia, South Africa, Senegal and Somaliland to discuss and find solutions to common challenges.

Call for Proposals: Lecturer, E-lection Bridge Academy, 15 – 19 April 2024, Mombasa, Kenya.

KAS PolDiSSA seeks to appoint a convener/ lecturer for the 2024 Election Bridge Acad-emy, taking place from 15 – 19 April 2024.

E-lection Bridge, a conjoin of electronic and elections, is an initiative that trains youth on topical issues in political communication, electoral democracies, and development through a series of lectures, simulation-based learning, and panel discussions. The academy also aims to establish partnerships and support a network of emulable young leaders.

Of the Child Who Never Learned to Walk

South Sudan’s Statehood: A Story of Failure

When South Sudan became the 55th African country to march into independence in July 2011 following five painful decades of conflict with (North) Sudan, there was a great sense of euphoria. But less than three years later, South Sudan was the frontrunner in an unfortunate category: the 2014 Fragile States Index ranking identified it as the most fragile state in the world. In the meantime, a brutal civil war broke out after the first government collapsed. It was not until 2018 that the warring parties were able to agree on a shaky peace treaty, the implementation of which continues to be difficult to this day. South Sudan’s statehood is a story of failure. A search for explanations.

Les partis façonnent la démocratie

Théorie et pratique dans une perspective mondiale

Les partis façonnent la démocratie: Théorie et pratique dans une perspective mondiale